Cosmetic Connection Adds Resource Section
Thanks to feedback from readers like you, I have added back the Cosmetic Company Contacts, Beauty Website Links page, and a link to our sister site, Ask The Makeup Diva, to the new layout of Cosmetic Connection. You can find this new Cosmetic Resource area at the bottom of the front page. Here are the direct links:

Cosmetic Company Contacts:
http://www.cosmeticconnection.com/companylist.html

Beauty Website Links:
http://www.cosmeticconnection.com/links.html

Ask The Makeup Diva:
http://www.makeupdiva.com

This week I've got a few reviews of new products from L'Oreal as well as something new from Three Custom Color Specialists.

L'Oreal Plenitude Turning Point Instant Facial Scrub
(retail $8.99; I paid $8.29)
If you patrol the drugstores like I do in search of new products, I'm sure you've spotted this new scrub. Unlike most scrubs, you put this one on your skin when it's dry, work it in a bit, let it sit for a minute, then rinse it off. Turning Point is gel based with small spherical jojoba scrub beads that manually exfoliate, as well as a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) ingredient (capryloyl salicylic acid) that basically goes into your pores and helps clear out dead skin cells that can make your skin look dull and flaky, and can contribute to breakouts. Turning Point also has mineral oil to give the scrub a little "slip" so it's more comfortable on dry skin. Personally, I think this scrub is gimmicky, doesn't produce the dramatic results that the label claims, and doesn't exfoliate as well as a regular scrub. I'd sooner recommend Remede Sensitive Sweep, Sage Corrective Grains, Youngblood Papaya Enzyme Scrub, or Astara Daily Refining Scrub.

L'Oreal Plenitude Turning Point Instant Facial Cream ($11.99)
Like with the scrub, L'Oreal promises amazing instant results with this beta hydroxy cream. I just didn't see it. It has the same capryloyl salicylic acid (BHA) as the scrub, which may be gentle but just doesn't produce the dramatic results that they claim. It's fine as a moisturizer, but that's about it.

L'Oreal QuickStick Face & Body Blush
(I paid $12.29)
Although I'm not the biggest fan of cream blush, I can never pass up trying something new. The reason I don't care for cream blush is simple: you almost have to have perfect skin to pull it off. It works best on clean, bare skin, which means without foundation or concealer, and without powder. I don't know about you, but my skin has not arrived to that level yet :) The "iced plum" color I got is very pretty sheer plum-purple with the tiniest hint of gold shimmer. It lasts fairly well on, but again, it's ideal for flawless skin that is basically normal (not oily or excessively dry).

L'Oreal HydraSoft Deeply Softening Lipcolour SPF12
(I paid $10.19)
With so many different types of lipstick to choose from, I am amazed that anyone can make a decision anymore! I guess L'Oreal decided we needed another formula, and HydraSoft was born. I admit I tried HydraSoft with low expectations, thinking it would just be another tube for the makeup wasteland I call my garage, but I actually like this one. It feels great on, comes in a nice selection of colors (I got "blissful cherry"), and actually lasts fairly well. Every day I tried it, I put it on in the morning, wore it for a few hours, then ate lunch, after which I expected that perky cherry color to be completely gone - but it wasn't. It did soften to more of a stain-like finish, but there was enough color left that I didn't have to reapply right away.

One last note about these new L'Oreal products: Is it just me or are drugstore products like these getting more and more expensive?? Drugstore used to mean inexpensive, but I do not consider $12 for blush to be inexpensive. Several department store or boutique lines sell their blush at close to the same price (Lorac $14, Garden Botanika $9.50, Stila $14). What gives? Okay, enough ranting for now :)

Three Custom Color Specialists "A Century in Red" ($45)
I have had the pleasure of trying and reviewing several lip color products from 3C over the last few years, and now they are tempting me with something new. Anyone who knows me knows I have an affinity for red lipstick and red nail polish; every time I get a manicure, I get red polish. This new "A Century in Red" lipstick palette takes the cake in my book. With ten shades from "bell epoque," a 1910s rich red stain to "futura," 3C's look at red for the future (a scarlet gloss with a hint of platinum), this is the ultimate compact for the red fanatic. For more information, call Three Custom at 1-888-262-7714. You can also see their main lipcolor collection online at http://www.threecustom.com.